Government officials have confirmed that the coal miner’s legal representative was not charged with any crime – but the arrest comes just three months after the arrested lawyer alleged Mongolia attempted to seize several hundred million dollars’ worth of coal from the miner.
Thirty-two-year-old Australian Sarah Armstrong was reportedly arrested Friday as she boarded a plane bound for her home in Hong Kong.
The West Australian connected Armstrong’s arrest-and-release block from leaving the country to a notice she filed for a SouthGobi affiliate, which triggered international arbitration proceedings against the Mongolian government.
The newspaper quoted a source close to the company who said Armstrong’s arrest was “retaliation”
“Anyone who knows the situation would see that these allegations are trumped up,” he said.
Armstrong, who has been working for SouthGobi more than two years, has claimed Mongolian official asked her for bribes.
Though no formal detention or charges have been asserted against Armstrong, the company said it feared for her safety, according to The West Australian.
The Mongolian embassy in Canberra said she was being asked to help investigate a “tax issue” with local authorities.
Last week, SouthGobi announced that the duties of chief operating officer Curtis Church would be taken over by president and chief executive Ross Tromans.
Tromans assumed the role of president and chief executive of the company last month after Alexander Molyneux was fired in the wake of a failed $US926 takeover bid by Chinese aluminum company Chalco.
